Friday, October 10, 2008

VeganMoFo - Spooky Halloweegan Spiders!

Spooky Halloweegan Spider Cookies! They are smiling so they're really not that spooky, but you can make them spooky if you want. Eating these was so weird! That was the only spooky thing about them. It felt like I was going to take a big bite off a real spider! *shudders*

Here's how to make them. Bake your favorite batch of chocolate cookies (I made Happy Herbivore's double chocolate chip cookies from her Sneak Peek e-cookbook). You don't want a cookie that is going to spread out too much because you will end up with flat spiders. Tip: using a cookie scoop instead of dropping spoonfuls of dough on a cookie sheet to make perfectly round spiders.

That's the simple part. The legs take quite a bit of work but I found it to be quite relaxing:

1- Line a chopping board with wax paper. Keep it in the freezer until you need it.

3- Using a #3 round decorating tip (or cut a 3 millimeter hole in one corner or a small ziploc bag and fill it with the melted chocolate), start drawing little "V" shapes on the cold wax-paper-covered board. These will be your legs. With 1/4 cup of melted chocolate you should be able to have 64 V shaped legs, enough for 8 cookies. Don't use it all up! Save just a little bit of chocolate in the bag for step five. Tip: To keep the chocolate soft, fill a food storage container with hot water, then cover with a tight lid and sit the pastry bag/ziploc on top of the lid. The warmth will keep the chocolate soft.

4- Let the chocolate legs harden in the fridge for 30 minutes or until you can peel them off whole with a spatula.

5- Using the pastry bag/ziploc again, take a cookie and squeeze a little chocolate drop onto each of the eight spots where the legs will go. The melted chocolate will work as glue. Move on to step six before the chocolate drops harden! Hurry!

6- Attach eight legs to each chocolate drop, working very quickly so the legs don't melt in your fingertips. I actually bought a pair of tweezers that are used only in the kitchen for projects like this. They're like mini tongs!

7- Using a basic, fairly stiff powder sugar icing (powder sugar and water) draw the eyes and mouths. Again, use a pastry bag or ziploc with a corner cut off to pipe on the eyes and mouths. I used a toothpick dipped in melted chocolate to create dots in the center of their eyes. That's all folks!

I've seen these made with black licorice legs, which looks WAY easier to make. But I just like to complicate the heck out of my life instead. More spider goodies coming up next week! Thank you for all your nice comments on my previous Halloweegan posts!

Woman...I love to cook and I can cook, but you are making me break out in a sweat trying to keep up with you. Give an old lady a break and slow down just a wee bit will ya?

Question: We(really Savanah) made your peanut butter vegan ghosts, and they were delicious, but she had a tough time trying to mold them just right...any suggestions?(And we now see the need fro finely shredded coconut)

Astounding, yet again! I have that e-book, I must try the cookies, they look yum. I am busy saving all your ideas, hopefully I'll manage to organise myself to make them, if not for Hallowe'en itself, then for LP's birthday a few days later :)